>> this is "bbc world news america." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs, and purepoint financial. >> how do we shape our tomorrow? it starts with a vision. we see its ideal form in our mind, and then we begin to chisel. we strip away everything that stands in the way to reveal new possibilities.

at purepoint financial, we have designed our modern approach to banking around you -- your plans, your goals, your dreams. your tomorrow is now. purepoint financial. >> and now, "bbc world news." jane: this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i am jane o'brien. the u.s. secretary of state says he has made real progress in talks with north korean officials, and while the summit is not officially back on, he has made it clear what is at stake. sec. pompeo: our two countries face of pivotal moment in our relationship in which it could be nothing short of tragic to let the opportunity go to waste. jane: the russian reporter who faked his own death tells the bbc why he felt there was no other choice. and unexpected terrain on pluto. how the dwarf planet shares features similar to those here on earth.

jane: welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. for the past two days, the u.s. secretary of state has been huddled with one of president kim jong-un's closest aides in new york, trying to hammer out an understanding ahead of a proposed summit next month. mike pompeo says real progress has been made and it would be a tragedy if the opportunity went to waste. but he still won't commit to a date. from new york, the bbc's nick bryant has been following all of the developments. nick: the kim summit dominated new york tabloids this morning, although this one involved a kardashian rather than a korean. star in ay tv made for instagram moment.

pop and political culture are hard to tell apart. this had far less star power but , was more momentuous. mike pompeo meeting korean general kim yong chol, one-time spymaster and his leader's right-hand man. the fact that even this meeting is taking place shows how rapidly and how dramatically relations between america and north korea have changed less than nine months ago, donald trump was just up the road at the united nations threatening to totally destroy that country. today's meeting felt like diplomatic speed dating. it was over quicker than expected. that was a sign of great progress, according to the americans, and also an indication of how much both sides want this summit to take place. sec. pompeo: our two countries face a pivotal moment in our relationship in which it could be nothing short of tragic to let this opportunity go to waste. i believe they are contemplating a path forward and can make a

strategic shift, one that their country has not been prepared to make before. nick: the north koreans are carrying a personal letter from kim jong-un to donald trump, and tomorrow in washington, they will make a remarkable journey , walking through the doors of the white house to deliver it. just a week after canceling the summit, the president has now indicated there could be multiple meetings. pres. trump: hopefully we will have a meeting on the 12th. it is going along really well. i want it to be meaningful. it does not mean it gets all done in one meeting. maybe you have a second or third. maybe we will have none. but it is in good hands. that i can tell you. nick: whether the two sides even agree on what is meant by denuclearization is unclear, but it does look increasingly likely that air force one will soon be on a flight path to singapore. nick bryant, bbc news, new york. jane: for more on today's developments, i spoke short time ago to the bbc state department

correspondent barbara plett-usher, who is in new york. barbara, it looks like it is going very well, but they won't guarantee the date. how close are we to the june 12 deadline? barbara: mr. pompeo was asked if the summit would go ahead on that date, and he said he didn't know, but he indicated they are closer to that kind of goal. he said there had been real progress in the last 72 hours to create the conditions for a successful summit, and he defined that by saying that would be the ability of kim jong-un and donald trump to actually achieve something if they sat down together. he didn't say what sort of compromises or agreements are on the agenda they are working on, which the americans want to focus on, the total nuclear disarmament of north korea. he said that both sides had very clearly set forward their expectations and positions. jane: what about this letter, barbara, we are expecting to be delivered to the white house tomorrow? do we know what is in it?

barbara: yes, the exchange of letters -- jane, you remember last week when donald trump canceled the summit, he did so by letter which he made public to kim jong-un, saying it was inappropriate to hold a hostile -- to hold the summit because of the hostile and angry statements from north korea. but he said "if you have a change of heart, feel free to write or call." it looks as if kim jong-un has written now. will that be the trigger to a summit? we don't know. but the fact that kim yong chol is going to deliver it is a sign we are moving in that direction. jane: barbara plett-usher in new york for us. for more on the negotiations, my colleague katty kay spoke to former defense secretary leon panetta short time ago. she started by asking if president trump's unconventional style may be getting results. mr. panetta: there has been a lot of unpredictability here, and i don't think anybody can jump to conclusions as to where this is going at this point.

we hope for the best. obviously, it is important that the united states and north korea be able to sit down and determine whether they can come to a comprehensive agreement. the problem i see is that we are short on time. we're talking about 12 days to a summit. i think in order to arrive at any comprehensive agreement, it will be very difficult to do in that timeframe. the hope is that they can at least agree to some raw goals -- broad goals and future negotiations. i think that would be a step in the right direction. katty: the white house and the president himself is now leaving wiggle room for this process taking longer, not just being one definitive summit, but the start of a series of meetings. whether we get there in june or july or august, when the two sides down together, if they do sit down together, from your position as a former director of the central intelligence agency,

would you trust what the north koreans were putting on the table? mr. panetta: i would begin with the premise that you do not trust the north koreans. i think you have to sit down and determine just exactly what they are willing to do, whether they are willing to -- if they say they are for denuclearization, then the issue becomes one of verification and an inspection regime to ensure that they are doing that over what period of time, what do we do about their missile development, what do we do about their atomic weapons, what do we do about the issue of sanctions. there are a number of issues here that have to be looked at that involve a comprehensive effort that has to be left, i believe, to professional negotiators from both sides to be able to work out those details. katty: you were chief of staff

to president bill clinton. president clinton decided to put the issue of denuclearization before giving the north korean leader a summit. what has changed since then to make it worth america giving a summit before the denuclearization, flipping the equation? mr. panetta: i think the reality is that we are dealing with a north korea that has developed nuclear weapons and is working on an icbm, and continues to represent a real threat to the united states and to the region. it is for that reason that i think rather than resorting to what could potentially be a nuclear war, it makes a lot better sense for the parties to be able to sit down and try to negotiate some kind of comprehensive approach. that is a far better path to take than to sit back and think about ways to blow each other up. katty: if this process doesn't work out now, if we don't get to

a summit, having put the principles on the line -- you have been in this position before where you have had to arrange meetings between leaders and usually you keep leaders in reserve -- where do we go if the summits don't work? mr. panetta: i think at most both of them should sit down and agree as to what the broad goals are that they want to achieve, and then put in place the negotiations that hopefully arrive at that. that is the best you can hope for now, and i hope at the very least it happens. if it doesn't, if they walk away from the table and for whatever reason cannot come to any kind of summit, i think that is going to make the world much more dangerous in terms of the relationship between north korea and the united states. katty: ok, leon panetta, thank you very much for joining us. jane: very hard to keep up with all the twists and turns, and

i's to dot and t's to cross. it will be interesting to see if the letter delivered to the white house tomorrow will be a confirmation of the june 12 date. interesting that donald trump is talking less about a breakthrough summit meeting but more a series of meetings. we will bring you every single update. quick look at some of the day's other news. giuseppe conte has accepted the offer to form a new government in italy. last week he refused after the president vetoed his choice for economy minister. he has presented a different list of ministers to the president and the new government will be sworn in tomorrow. the future of spain's prime minister is hanging in the balance. socialists are trying to remove him over accusation of corruption. local media is reporting the basque nationalist party will vote against him in a move that would almost certainly force him out of office. a british man has pleaded guilty to terrorism charges over a plot to attack britain's prince george.

a 32-year-old posted information online encouraging jihadists to carry out attacks on the four-year-old prince at his school in southwest london. he was told to expect a very lengthy prison sentence. more details have emerged today about a russian journalist who faked his own murder and then appeared yesterday every much alive. arkady babchenko, who was aided by the ukrainian secret service , used pig's blood as part of the deception, and watched reports of his assassination at a mortuary. he said it was to ensure the safety of his family. jonah fisher has been speaking to him in kiev. >> arkady, welcome back from the dead. [laughter] jonah: two days after he was supposedly assassinated, arkady babchenko has a lot of explaining to do. can you talk us through what happened on the night of the fake assassination?

arkady: they put makeup on me. the blood used was real. everything was done for real. my wife called police. andspecial police came, emergency services, too. they took me to the morbid, and that took me to the -- they took me to the morgue, and until i was through the gates, i had to pretend to be dead. jonah: arkady hid at the morgue and then a safe house while outside the apartment his friends mourned and ukraine security service arrested a man who they say is a russian agent with plans to assassinate russians in kiev. did you have misgivings about taking part in a huge fake like this? arkady: my dear friend, let me put it like this -- when the security service comes to you and says that there is an order out for your murder, are you going to say, "no, i won't take

part because it will hurt the media's reputation"? come on. jonah: but as a journalist, can you see how this episode will erode trust in basic information and the work of journalists? arkady: ok, what choice did i have? what would you choose in my place? jonah: yesterday, when he apologized to her at a news conference, there had been speculation that mr. babchenko's wife had believed him dead. not true, he said. in fact, she helped him with the plan. our interview over, arkady babchenko told me he would be living in much heightened security. jonah fisher, bbc news, kiev. jane: you are watching "world news america." still to come on tonight's

, trade tensions flare as the trump administration announces it will go ahead with tariffs. countries affected announce retaliation. in thailand made famous by the film "the beach" has been closed by authorities to protected from potential damage. tourists are a threat to the: see life around it. life around it. reporter: in the film, leonardo dicaprio's characters doubles across paradise. -- stumbles across paradise. in reality, it has become an extremely busy paradise. thousands of tourists descend here every day, and getting that photo to make it look like you are the only one here -- well that is tricky. >> still really good, isn't it?

reporter: have you taken a photo way you are the only ones in it? >> no, it is so difficult. >> so busy. onlyter: most tourists stay for a couple of hours before leaving on one of the many boats that dock here. but environmentalists say that is damaging what is under the water. >> we have information that all the boats that come in and out impact the clover leaf. -- quarterly. reporter: a decision was made earlier this year to shut the bay from the beginning of june. when it opens four months later, the plan is to cap visitor numbers to have what they are now and ban speedboats from docking in the bay. >> i think we thought we were entering some serene, empty

white beaches by assaults, and if you look around, it is not empty, but still beautiful. reporter: thailand is receiving more tourists year on year and some say it means it is not just bay that needsya protected. when danny boyle made "the beach," you probably didn't think it would become the draw it is today. president trump made good on a campaign promise today and slap hefty tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum. that part was predictable, but his choice of target countries has caused a bit of a stir. allies including the eu, canada, and mexico are on the list, and they have been quick to promise retaliatory measures. the bbc's aleem maqbool has this report. >> now it is time for action. pres. trump: i'm not going to let america and it's great companies and workers be taken advantage of any longer.

u.s. steeld for asking the president to deliver on his election promise to save jobs in the industry, but for many, the way he has done that looks like the opening salvo in a trade war between europe and the u.s. that could have far-reaching consequences. from midnight tonight, large tariffs will have to be paid on any steel and aluminum imports coming to the u.s. from the eu. >> there is overproduction of steel and there is overcapacity throughout the world, and so we have needed to deal with it in a very global manner. you cannot just deal with it dealing with one country. aleem: surrounded by steelworkers, donald trump actually announced the tariffs for most countries in march, but also exemptions from mexico, canada, and the eu. he has today scrapped of those exemptions. pres. trump: the workers who

poured their souls into this great nation were betrayed, but that betrayal is now over. aleem: donald trump can only do this by claiming it is in the interest of national security, which he has now done, to the dismay of the friends he is penalizing. pres. trump: thank you very much , everybody. >> it is very disappointing that the united states has chosen to apply steel and aluminum tariffs to countries across the european union, allies of the united states, all in the name of national security, and in the case of the united kingdom, we send steel to the united states that is vital for their businesses and the defense industry. it is patently absurd. >> let me be clear -- these tariffs are totally unacceptable. for 150 years, canada has been the united states' most steadfast ally. aleem: europe is already talking about retaliation. >> in the next coming hours,

counterbalancing measures, what they can do, we are able to do exactly the same. it is totally unacceptable that a country is imposing unilateral measures when it comes to trade. aleem: so how could europe hit back? some all-american industries could be hit, like this u.s. denim factory. there is talk of the eu imposing other tariffs on bourbon, motorcycles, and even peanut butter. the truth is a big reason donald trump has introduced these new tariffs is to satisfy his supporters. it may not have the impact on jobs he says it will, but it has risked a dangerous economic discussion with this country's biggest trade partners. jane: aleem maqbool reporting . a brief time ago, the new eu lassiter to the u.s., david o'sullivan, join my colleague katty kay. we consider the

imposition of the tariffs wtogal under the video -- law. we think they are unjustified. our exports are not posing a problem to national security or the economy. under wto rules, we are entitled to impose rebalancing tariffs from the united states to europe, and thats the opon we intend to use in order to use the means available to us to demonstrate our unhappiness wint we defend european interests. katty: the things you have talked about hitting -- bourbon, levi's, orange juice from florida -- come from states that are politically sensitive in the united states. is that the aim here? amb. o'sullivan: it is a much longer list than that. those other things people have jumped on as having symbolism. driving force is to hit things which are not indispensable to the manufacturing process in europe. that is why these products have been selected, and it is intended to send a message that we believe the wto rules need to

be enforced and respected and when they are broken we will use our rights under those rules to protect our interests. katty: did you understand why the white house is doing this? i heard it during the campaign, american steel workers are not happy with chinese steel dumping in the united states. but why is the administration hitting key allies? amb. o'sullivan: you would honestly have to address that question to the administration. i get the general message that the administration was elected on a platform of trying to rebalance american trade, which they feel faces unfair barriers across the world. we don't think that is the case in europe, but america is a partner and ally and we are more than anxious to discuss problems and find solutions. but in this particular case, we believe that accusing european exports of steel and aluminum as being a threat to american national security doesn't stand up to analysis, and we fear this is a disguised form of protectionism designed purely to protect the domestic industry from competition. katty: a partner and an ally, but this doesn't help relations.

amb. o'sullivan: it doesn't help relations, but the relationship is big and broad and it will continue to be the most important relationship for europe, the friendship and alliance with america. i believe it is still the case -- katty: but this doesn't make it easier. amb. o'sullivan: it doesn't make it easy, but you have to put a certain perspective on things like this. katty: david o'sullivan, thanks for coming in. jane: the dwarf planet pluto is over 3 billion miles away, and has longeen a mystery to scientists. now experts say they have found important new evence about the planet's surface which in places resembles sand dunes familiar to us on earth. here is science editor david shukman. david: until recently, the distant world of pluto was a total mystery. but a nasa spacecraft captured the stunning pictures three years ago, and scientists have been trying to make sense of sights they never expected. everyone thought that somewhere

so cold would be frozen solid. but amazingly, there are signs of movement on the surface. the latest discovery is about the texture of the landscape. these are fields of dunes that looks surprisingly like the ones we have on earth. >> this is important for a scientific perspective because it gives us new insights about pluto, but it is exciting about just to be able to look at this world and recognize that it is not just a frozen, icy blob in the outer reaches of the solar system, but really, we are seeing a dynamic world still changing and still forming today. david: a major surprise is that pluto is much more active than previously thought. its atmosphere is so incredibly thin compared to earth that dunes shouldn't be possible. with a temperature of -230, you would think everything would be totally frozen. but it turns out there is enough tinyh from the sun to this grains, and winds, however weak,

can move them. that is how the dunes are formed. on earth, dunes like these in the kalahari desert take shape when the winds blow grains of sand. scientists have found the dunes forming in different conditions on mars, venus, and now pluto. this could help them know what to look for on worlds even further away. >> it makes you think that there was a lot beyond pluto, not just in the solar system, but beyond our solar system. we have found thousands of planets and we cannot see those surfaces. but eventually we will be able, and what will we see? 50 years ago, pluto was described as silent and barren. now we know there is a sparkling level of activity, and the new horizons spacecraft is on its way to another world even more distant. after years in space, it will be woken from hibernation next

week, and it is on course to come up with more discoveries next year. david shukman, bbc news. jane: who would have guessed there was ever such a thing as the dune? i am jane o'brien. thank for watching "bbc world news america." >> with the bbc news app, our vertical videos are designed to work around your lifestyle, so you can swipe your way to the news of the day and stay up-to-date with the latest headlines you can trust. download now from selected app stores. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs, and purepoint financial. >> how do we shape our tomorrow? it starts with a vision. we see its ideal form in our mind, and then we begin to chisel. we strip away everything that stands in the way to reveal new

possibilities. at purepoint financial, we have designed our modern approach to banking around you -- your plans, your goals, your dreams. your tomorrow is now. purepoint financial. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening, i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight, saving the summit: secretary of state mike pompeo and north korea's delegates meet to work on plans for the two leaders' meeting. then, i sit down with outgoing immigration enforcement director thomas homan to discuss the trump administration's crackdown and the policy separating families at the border. and, how educating women is causing a global shift-- economists look at the new wealth of nations as the gender gap narrows around the world. >> the spread of education has transformed the world and has transformed relationships, inequalities between countries and finally and most importantly between the sex